110+ Sharon Gannon Quotes On Education, Creative And Inspiring

Sharon Gannon is an American yoga teacher, author and animal rights activist. She is the co-founder of the Jivamukti Yoga Method, a form of vinyasa-style yoga that combines spiritual teachings with physical asanas. She is a prominent figure in the yoga world and has authored several books on the subject. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Sharon Gannon on life, education, leadership.

Top 10 Sharon Gannon Quotes

1. All breathing beings are spiritual; this includes everyone who breathes, whether they are animals or humans, carnivores or vegetarians.
2. You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.
3. Don't wait for a better world. Start now to create a world of harmony and peace. It is up to you, and it always has been. You may even find the solution at the end of your fork.
4. Eating a vegetarian diet can contribute more to saving ourselves and the planet than any other single effort.
5. Life begins with an inhale and ends with an exhale. ln between that inhale and that exhale is our life.
6. Yoga practices shift our identity away from the ego-personality and its struggles so that we can begin to reconnect with the essential nature of our being, which is bliss.
7. The best way to uplift our own lives is to do all we can to uplift the lives of others.
8. You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state.
9. Three things to never leave home without: your keys, birdseed for the birds, and your mala beads to chant through difficulties.
10. Inspiration pushes me out of my tight intellectual comfort zone and into humility, the wonderous state of not knowing. From this place of zero, limitless possibilities seem to arise.

Sharon Gannon Short Quotes

• One of the definitions for "mad" is "wild"; I'm certainly all for wild as opposed to domesticated.
• What we do as an individual affects the whole world.
• What you eat affects you physically as well as other beings you share this planet with.
• Be confident in yourself, in your abilities, and in your goals. Then go for it.
• When we have a choice it is always best to choose kindness. Veganism is simply the kinder choice.
• You cannot change the past but you can start now and lay the foundation for the future.
• Create the kind of world you want to live in by how you treat others now.
• Fishing is taking a huge toll on the planet's ecosystem.
• Enlightenment is the realization of the oneness of being, where otherness disappears.
• Choosing to be kind rather than to be cruel benefits everyone.

Sharon Gannon Quotes About Life

All living beings are spiritual beings because all of life breathes. Breath is an indication that spirit is present. — Sharon Gannon

If yogis are to come to the realization of the interconnectedness of life, then we must free ourselves from the conditioning that has caused us to think it is all right to exclude all the other animals from our own goals of peace, freedom, and happiness. — Sharon Gannon

It is true that every being is enjoying life or suffering as a direct result of his or her own past actions. The animals in the factory farms may have been meat-eating human beings in a previous birth; we don't know, and it is not our place to judge. — Sharon Gannon

To be an environmentalist is to care about the environment and care about life on planet Earth. — Sharon Gannon

If we want to consider the sanctity of life in deciding what to eat, the choice is clear. Eating a plant based diet causes less harm, to ourselves, to the other animals, to the planet. — Sharon Gannon

Our breath is connected to the air that every being breathes. By breathing consciously, we acknowledge our communion with all of life. — Sharon Gannon

Through yoga practice you can change the course of your life by purifying your karma. But to do that you must have an idea of where you've been and where you want to go. — Sharon Gannon

The yogi in love needs only to whisper the beloved name, and all desire is fulfilled. To hear Shyamdas speak of The Lover’s Life is to be transported into the eternal magical realm of love, where infinite possibilities become possible. — Sharon Gannon

Yoga teaches us that we can have whatever we may want in life if we are willing to provide it for others first. — Sharon Gannon

The most important thing to remember in life is to be kind. — Sharon Gannon

Sharon Gannon Famous Quotes And Sayings

Raising crops to feed animals for human consumption requires a lot of land. It takes eight or nine cows a year to feed one average meat eater; each cow eats one acre of green plants, soybeans and corn per year; so it takes eight or nine acres of plants a year to feed one meat eater, compared with only half an acre to feed one vegetarian. — Sharon Gannon

Om Schooled is the perfect manual for anyone who wants to start teaching yoga to kids. This is not just a theoretical book—it is a step-by-step manual. Sarah Herrington shares the wisdom she has gained from her day-to-day experiences, for many years, teaching all ages of children yoga in the New York School system. — Sharon Gannon

The practices of Yoga will help you maintain equanimity in all situations by teaching you to become transparent, able to allow both joy and sorrow to flow through you without destroying your peace of mind. — Sharon Gannon

It is a fact that the ecological devastation of the planet can be traced to the consumption of meat and dairy, which contributes to water, soil, and air pollution as well as global warming and the mass extinction of many species of plant and animal forms. — Sharon Gannon

Flesh isn't the only source of protein. You can get all the protein you need from a varied plant-based diet. Protein is found in greens, veggies, beans, grains, nuts & seeds, avocados and so on. And there is no need to consume these foods in any special combination. — Sharon Gannon

If you practice Yoga for small, selfish reasons, you will remain the same, bound by your beliefs about what you can and cannot do. Let go and offer your effort to limitless potential. Dedicate yourself to the happiness of all beings. — Sharon Gannon

It's important to understand that calcium isn't just about what you eat; it's also about what you keep. Acidic animal products mine minerals like potassium, magnesium and calcium from our bodies. In fact, the countries that consume the most dairy have the highest rates of hip fracture and osteoporosis. — Sharon Gannon

Sunlight is essential to the body's ability to absorb calcium from the food you are eating. Make sure you receive adequate vitamin D every day through sunlight. About fifteen to twenty minutes of sun on the face and hands is usually enough for most of us. — Sharon Gannon

Most of the plants grown to be fed to farm animals are heavily saturated with pesticides and herbicides and have been genetically modified, all of which contributes to the pollution and destruction of our environment, which harms us all. — Sharon Gannon

The way we treat animals is the root cause of all the human suffering in the world, from poverty, starvation, disease, and war to lack of clean air and water, not to mention all the varied forms of human emotional and spiritual suffering. — Sharon Gannon

Through the practice of yoga, you come to feel confident and develop a feeling of wholeness and completeness; you are not likely to feel deprived or 'less than.' People steal because they feel deprived. They try to make up for their deficits by depriving others. — Sharon Gannon

In fact, drinking milk and eating dairy products can rob your body of calcium and contribute to osteoporosis. If you eat dark green leafy vegetables like kale, collards, and mustard greens, you can get enough calcium from a vegan diet. — Sharon Gannon

Through the practices of yoga, we discover that concern for the happiness and well being of others, including animals, must be an essential part of our own quest for happiness and well being. The fork can be a powerful weapon of mass destruction or a tool to create peace on Earth. — Sharon Gannon

We have become so addicted to our greed-driven habits that we have lost our moral compass and don't know what is right and wrong. — Sharon Gannon

Today's fishing industry supplies land farms with fish as well. Over fifty percent of the fish caught is fed to livestock on factory farms and "regular" farms. It is an ingredient in the enriched "feed meal" fed to livestock. — Sharon Gannon

I don't miss another opportunity to try to do my best to finish the things I have left undone. I could say: It's my unresolved karma that wakes me up in the morning. — Sharon Gannon

To live and breathe with an exclusive focus on one's small self, disconnected from the whole, is the definition of egotism. — Sharon Gannon

To find out how much protein you need, take your weight and divide it by three. Rest assured, a whole foods, varied plant-based diet will give you all the protein you need. — Sharon Gannon

Everyone is caught in the web of his or her own actions and is bound by past karmas (actions). Good and bad are relative terms. Every action takes one to the next place. — Sharon Gannon

Fishing is not a benign activity; it is hunting in the water. — Sharon Gannon

The raising of animals for food and all that it entails is the single most destructive force impacting our planet's fragile ecosystems. Our planet simply cannot sustain the greed of billions of human beings who are eating other animals. — Sharon Gannon

The number of human deaths due to hardening of the arteries and other similar diseases suggests that human beings were not meant to eat animals; our bodies are unable to digest the animal fat effectively and it ends up stored in our blood vessels, not to mention our waist lines, buttocks and thighs! — Sharon Gannon

To be political actually means to care about your community. — Sharon Gannon

If you want to know if someone is a "spiritual being" ask yourself, "Is he or she breathing?" If the answer is yes, then you know that you are in the presence of a spiritual being. — Sharon Gannon

Don't try to do this by yourself: to become a good yogi you need a teacher. Find a teacher you can bow to, who can teach you how to be kind - how to serve others - because the key to enlightenment lies in that. Be humble, work hard, study and practice. Chant the Name of God, do japa and meditate, every day. — Sharon Gannon

Don't expect others to change. Instead, take on the project and see if you can become the change you want to see in the world. Try your best to let go of anger, blame and seeing yourself as a victim. — Sharon Gannon

Try your best not to get distracted from your goal. Let everything you do be your way of getting closer to your enlightenment; never take a vacation from spiritual practice. — Sharon Gannon

Because of our unenlightenment, we do not know that what we do to others we ultimately do to ourselves. — Sharon Gannon

Knowing the truth about the hell-realms that animals have to endure, it would be wise of us to do our best now not to plant the karmic seeds that would cause us to be reborn as an animal in one of those hell realms. — Sharon Gannon

Actually, fish are very sensitive creatures with highly developed nervous systems. They feel pain acutely. If they weren't able to feel pain, they, like us, could not have survived as a species. Their nervous systems, like ours, secrete opiate-like, pain-dampening biochemicals in response to pain. — Sharon Gannon

Through the deeply theraputic practice of asana, we begin to purify our karmas, thereby healing our past relationships with others and reestablishing a steady and joyful connection with the Earth, which means all beings. — Sharon Gannon

If we ourselves want to be free and happy then by enslaving and harming animals we will not be able to achieve our goal. — Sharon Gannon

The way you treat others determines the way others treat you; the way others treat you determines the way you see yourself; the way you see yourself determines who you are. — Sharon Gannon

We can't have happiness if we cause others unhappiness. — Sharon Gannon

Fishing is taking a huge toll on the planet's ecosystem. We are emptying the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers as we fish them dry. — Sharon Gannon

We ourselves can never be free if we rob others of their freedom. — Sharon Gannon

What we do to others will come back to us. You can't expect to be happy by causing unhappiness to others. — Sharon Gannon

What could be more physical than what you eat, where you live, and who you live with? These are all very physical issues. — Sharon Gannon

Be a communicator, not a self-righteous proselytizer or preacher. Many people are only concerned with expressing themselves, which isn't necessarily communication. — Sharon Gannon

As a yoga practitioner with some understanding of how karma works, you have to ask the question, "If I am seeking liberation, will it serve my purpose to rob other beings of their freedom?" — Sharon Gannon

To cultivate compassion, try to remember that others are doing the best they can, just like you, and that when someone does something abusive, they are getting something that they feel is positive from the experience. — Sharon Gannon

I'm totally into veganism and animal rights, but I'm not into being an angry and judgmental activist. — Sharon Gannon

Being a joyful vegan is the best way I know to contribute to the happiness of others, ultimately ensuring our own happiness. — Sharon Gannon

It may take sixteen pounds of grain to make one pound of beef, but it also takes one hundred pounds of fish to make that one-pound of beef! — Sharon Gannon

There are atoms of air in your lungs that were once in the lungs of everyone who has ever lived. In essence, we are breathing (inspiring) one another. — Sharon Gannon

Welfarists are concerned with the quality of the animals' lives before or even during their slaughter and want animals to be treated, and slaughtered, "humanely." Welfarists don't necessarily feel that it is wrong for humans to use animals for our own purposes. — Sharon Gannon

Today "aged" foods like sauerkraut, miso, and tempeh are fermented in hygienically sanitized stainless-steel vats to assure cleanliness, so we can no longer be sure they will provide us with the B12 we need. Vegans should not mess around with this issue. — Sharon Gannon

I passionately feel that as long as we view ourselves as superior and other animals as exploitable our consciousness will remain stuck in a level of ignorance that will disallow a full realization of the truth underlying reality. — Sharon Gannon

See the other person's potential for kindness and bolster your own expression of kindness. If you see them in a negative way, the power of your perception will only help to keep them that way as you polarize yourself from them, assuming a superior role, seeing yourself as the good guy and them as the bad guy. — Sharon Gannon

I am a fast cook. I have to be, as I am a busy person with many responsibilities and don't have a lot of time for cooking. — Sharon Gannon

It is a testament to the effectiveness of advertising campaigns funded by the animal-user industries that a diet that is bad for us and harmful to the planet is thought of as "normal" and a diet that promotes health, happiness, and well-being is thought of as alternative, abnormal, or faddish. In fact, these days it is relatively easy to find vegetarian options in many restaurants and supermarkets, though you may have to ask. — Sharon Gannon

To meet the huge consumer demand for fish, the industry can no longer rely on hunting wild fish. Now we are doing to fish what was done to wild cows, sheep, goats, chickens, and ducks thousands of years ago: we are confining them in holding pens. — Sharon Gannon

Is it really that much better to make friends with animals before you kill them than to treat them as nameless, faceless objects before you kill them? From a yogic point of view, one must weigh the karmic consequences of perceiving others as mere objects to be used and the consequences of profiting from the suffering of others. — Sharon Gannon

The enemy of the spirit is the selfish ego, which thinks that happiness can be gained through causing unhappiness and disharmony to others. In many ancient languages, the word for enemy means "one who falls out of rhythm; one who is not working in harmony with the larger group." — Sharon Gannon

What you do to benefit the lives of others will ultimately also benefit you. — Sharon Gannon

Communication implies communing, having a shared experience with another, not "talking at" or "talking down to" someone. — Sharon Gannon

Vegan food is not only good for you, the animals, and the planet, but cooking vegan can be simple, easy, and fun. — Sharon Gannon

We create the world we live in. If we want to change what we don't like in the world, we must start by changing what we don't like about ourselves. — Sharon Gannon

Lions and other carnivorous animals do a lot of things besides eat meat. They live outdoors, not in houses; they don't wear clothes or drive around in cars; they usually sleep for many hours after eating a meal. Why cite just one of the many things that they do and argue that we should imitate them? This doesn't make much sense. — Sharon Gannon

Whatever you want to have happen to you make it happen for others now and eventually but inevitably you will reap the seeds you have sown. — Sharon Gannon

What we do to others will come back to us. — Sharon Gannon

To be alive is to be breathing. — Sharon Gannon

Farm animals, like dairy cows - who by nature are vegans - are routinely force-fed fish to increase their weight and milk production. — Sharon Gannon

Worry is a prayer for something you don't want. — Sharon Gannon

There are many activities that human beings have been doing "forever." We might argue from that perspective that eating meat should be allowed to continue. Men have been raping women for thousands of years; does that mean that it is normal and should be allowed to continue? — Sharon Gannon

When many people start practicing yoga, they are amazed to discover that their body isn't just something used to carry their head around - their body has intelligence too. We start to feel how our actions affect the lives of others - this could be described as becoming political, because the word politic means the "greater body" - it refers to the community of others with whom we share the Earth. — Sharon Gannon

It's a common myth that athletes and other highly active people need the protein from meat and dairy to fuel their activities and build and repair muscles and other bodily tissues. In fact, there is growing evidence that consumption of too much protein can lead to very serious health issues, including kidney disease, osteoporosis, and cancer. The active body can get all the protein it needs from a diverse, 100% plant-based diet. — Sharon Gannon

Human overconsumption is a greater problem than human population growth, and meat eating is a big part of that problem. — Sharon Gannon

In fact, we would know ourselves that we are not meant to be meat eaters, and we would not have allowed ourselves to become conditioned to meat eating in the first place, if the effects of meat eating were felt right away. But since heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, etc. usually take many years to develop, we are able to separate them from their cause (or contributing factors) and go on happily eating an animal-based diet. — Sharon Gannon

If we weren't so dirt-conscious, we would obtain adequate vitamin B12 from soil, air, water, and bacteria, but we meticulously wash and peel our vegetables now - and with good reason, as we can't be sure our soil is not contaminated with pesticides and herbicides. — Sharon Gannon

It is true that veganism is a serious issue, but there should be fun involved. Why do anything if it doesn't bring some joy at the end of the day? — Sharon Gannon

We are so unconscious about our actions that we don't even realize the immense suffering we are causing to animals, the planet, and ourselves. — Sharon Gannon

Some people may argue that if the animals are treated humanely prior to being slaughtered, this justifies their confinement and slaughter. Is it ethical to rob beings of their freedom but give them a comfortable prison and provide them with food until they become fat enough to be slaughtered? Any way you look at it, farms are places where animals are kept in preparation to be slaughtered and ultimately eaten as food. — Sharon Gannon

Lions and other carnivorous animals do eat meat, but that doesn't mean we should. They would die if they didn't eat meat. Human beings, in contrast, choose to eat meat; it isn't a physiological necessity. — Sharon Gannon

Because we lack sharp claws, aren't very fast on our feet, and aren't exactly endowed with lightning reflexes, it would be very difficult if not impossible for us to run down an animal, catch it with our bare hands, and tear through its fur and skin in order to eat it. Biologically, we are designed to be frugivorous herbivores eating mainly fruits, seeds, roots, and leaves. — Sharon Gannon

In fact, we are designed anatomically to be vegetarians. — Sharon Gannon

We enslave, torture and then slaughter animals to eat them, then when we eventually become sick from that we enslave, torture and kill more animals in laboratories in the hopes of creating drugs to enable us to continue with our animal-abusive lifestyle! Few of us look to the future (i.e., to our parents and grandparents), see the effects of an omnivorous lifestyle, and opt out of it before it makes us sick. — Sharon Gannon

Each of us, through the actions we take, plant the seeds which will eventually but inevitably grow and create the reality we will find ourselves living in. — Sharon Gannon

Many genetically "altered" fish escape from the confines of the crowded floating concentration camps to mingle and mate with their wild fish cousins, causing horrible and irreversible damage to wild species. — Sharon Gannon

Arctic-dwelling Eskimos have no choice but to eat large amounts of meat and animal fat. But let's get our facts straight: according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Eskimos also have the highest incidences of heart disease and osteoporosis in the world and, in general, short life spans. Perhaps that is something to consider when we are faced with the choice of what to eat for dinner and unlike Eskimos most of us do have choices. — Sharon Gannon

We are the only animals who steal and drink the milk from other species. — Sharon Gannon

To be politically activated is to dare to care about the happiness of others and that is just about the most important activity anyone can be involved in at this time, because it changes a person - it lifts them from normal self-centeredness to a state of other centeredness. That is a good thing because it expands our perception of self. This expansion of consciousness leads to enlightenment, which is the meaning of yoga. — Sharon Gannon

When you feel destructive, negative emotions like hate and anger arise within you towards the person opposing you; cultivate the opposite state of mind. — Sharon Gannon

Some well-to-do parents may say, "I have a right to have as many children as I want because I can take care of them." That may be so, but can the Earth take care of them? — Sharon Gannon

On average, most people consume between 100 - 120 grams of protein per day. Not only is that unhealthy, it's extremely dangerous, as the majority of the protein consumed is animal based. — Sharon Gannon

Life Lessons by Sharon Gannon

1. Sharon Gannon emphasizes the importance of listening to your body and honoring its needs through yoga practice. She encourages students to take time to explore the sensations and feelings that arise during practice, rather than just going through the motions.
2. Sharon Gannon also emphasizes the importance of connecting with your inner self and understanding the power of self-love. She encourages students to be mindful of their thoughts and feelings, and to be gentle and compassionate with themselves.
3. Finally, Sharon Gannon emphasizes the importance of living mindfully and consciously, and of being present in the moment. She encourages students to practice gratitude and to recognize the beauty in the world around them.